(Clay Matthews was working with the first group today. What have you seen from him?)
We've been very pleased with the progress Clay has made so far, so we've split the reps. We primarily worked Clay with the ones today, and that will be a good competition throughout camp we anticipate with him and Jeremy.
(Kevin Greene is really on top of every play. Is that just being a rookie coach or is he that intense?)
I just think that is Kevin Greene's coaching style. Everybody has a style that fits their personality, but their job description is to teach and demand, and that is the way Kevin goes about it.
(How important is it to have a set group on the offensive line and how close are you to that?)
We're not close to it, number one, to setting the offensive line but you would like to make that decision obviously sooner rather than later. We'll work that at least for the next week and a half, two weeks until we start trying to make a decision.
(The other day you weren't happy with the punters. Have you seen anything more from them?)
Shawn spends a lot of time with these guys and they have been here throughout the spring and the early part of pre-training camp. You definitely see the progress they have made since then, but it is performance time. So you want to see them both compete and someone step up and take the job. I think we are headed in that direction.
(How long until Jones and Barnett test their injuries?)
Nick is on a workout plan, and he is moving forward. But as far as a re-test and making a decision, I don't anticipate that happening this week. Really Jones is day to day. We are not going to test him today so we'll see where he is in the morning.
(How is Johnny Jolly?)
Johnny had the boot on today. Pat (McKenzie) is hoping it is within a week, is about the time frame we are looking at.
(What happened to Colledge?)
I don't know his exact injury right now, but he was rolled up in one of the team periods.
(What do you want to see Aaron Rodgers improve on?)
First of all, you want him to be a better player. That's what the offseason is for as far as addressing your fundamental aspects of his play, and I think he has done that. Just run the offense at a higher rate of efficiency. You always want to throw for a higher completion percentage. If you're looking for a statistic to grab onto, you want to throw for more touchdowns and less turnovers. Those are the things we are focused on. We'll definitely move in that direction without the amount of reps he'll have again with the first group from our perimeter standpoint. I think the perimeter on offense has been a strong part of our football team for the last couple of years, so it's nice to see that group get better and better each week.
(Did Jamon Meredith just lock up there?)
We had some guys that were kind of gassed there at the end. These are long practices, a lot of reps, a lot of fundamental time. It's by design. I know it's taxing, particularly for our big guys. There are a lot of reps here for our big guys, and once again that is by design. So we're definitely going to challenge those groups.
(You wanted a more physical camp; are you seeing that?)
Absolutely. I think it's very evident. The practices are longer. The team reps, there's more reps there. You have to be smart. I'm not trying to bite off my nose to spite my face. But we've challenged these guys so far in these first four practices.
(How nice is it to have Ryan Grant here for all of camp?)
Very nice. It's nice to see him healthy, healthy legs, and he's still a relatively young player. He needs training camp. He needs to work on the little things, the fundamentals, and this is the time of year you get it done.
(How big of a contributor can Justin Harrell be?)
Availability and accountability. First thing is you have to available. His health is his biggest obstacle. I see a young player that's improving. I anticipate, Justin being healthy, that he'll definitely be able to contribute.
{sportsad300}(Are you still sorting through who does what best when it comes to blitzing?)
I think Dom has clearly identified the playmakers as far as who's able to pressure. But when we put pressures in there, every pressure isn't based on, OK, we want you to blitz. There's other elements that determine who comes and when they come. There's concept blitzes, there's personnel blitzes and so forth. I don't really want to get into specifics of our scheme, especially in the media, but I think Dom has identified who the playmakers are on defense.
(How much of an improvement do you expect from the running game?)
I'm going to have to go look at it. I didn't know it was that bad. I know where it's rank is, but our offense was No. 6 in the National Football League, so you do get credit when the ball moves. We're going to run the ball better than last year. That's the goal. I think, number one, we're more of a chore in the run-blocking unit. I think our backs are a year better. Our quarterback's going to be a year better at keeping us in the best-play-available mentality. I look at all those elements to contribute to being a better run game. It's important. But the first thing is you have to move the ball down the field and put it in the end zone. Offensively we've done a pretty good job of that, particularly the last two years. There's a standard there and we obviously want to exceed that this year.
(Do you think you'll be using other guys more in addition to Grant?)
A lot of things factor into that. We have a starting running back. I'm very, very impressed with DeShawn Wynn. I think he's having an outstanding training camp so far. Brandon Jackson has been very consistent. He gives a different type of style back than Ryan Grant. You have to be excited about Lumpkin, and Sutton is productive with his reps. So you never have enough good running backs, and the most important thing is to be able to line up and run the football week in and week out regardless of who's back there carrying it.
